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Full presentations and related resources are now available from Enhancing Economic Competitiveness through Going Green
Resources Available from Previous Workshops:
Regional Wood Products Consortium: Specialized Innovation Workshop
Quick Links: (Presentation Downloads) (Additional Resources) (Funding) (Presenters)
This workshop - geared to small and medium sized wood products companies in Maine, New Hamphsire, Vermont, and northern New York - was held in multiple sites throughout the four state region in October and November of 2010, and featured national experts on Lean Manufacturing for the wood products industry.
This workshop was the third in an initial series of Specialized Innovation Workshops held in 2010/2011and co-sponsored by the following trade association parners:
Wood Products Manufacturers Association
Maine Wood Products Association
New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association
Vermont Wood Manufacturers Association
Empire State Forest Products Association
Note: All presenations and other resources are available in PDF format, may take several minutes to download depending on connection speed, and require Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download the Reader for free at http://get.adobe.com/reader/.
The first three presentations were co-conducted by Dr Earl Kline and Dr. Urs Buehlmann of the Virginia Tech Department of Wood Science and Forest Products:
Types of Waste that Lean Seeks to Eliminate or Reduce
This session discussed the concept of waste from the Lean Manufacturing perspective and the types of waste at which Lean is targeted, including: overproduction, unnecessary inventory, over-processing, waiting, unnecessary movement of products, unnecessary motion/movement of employees and waste associated with rejects/rework.
Benefits of Lean...and Commitments Needed to Realize Benefits
This session focused on the benefits that wood products companies can realize from Lean Manufacturing including substantial increases in labor productivity, substantial increases in quality control, dramatic reductions in inventory and the costs associated with inventory, and dramatic reductions in manufacturing lead time. The session reviewed specific, real-world benefits from various wood products companies that have adopted a Lean approach. The session also discussed the opportunities that Lean Manufacturing provides for companies interested in moving into new products and new markets, and also new business models based on mass customization, personalization and co-creating products with customers. Finally, the session provided an overview of the commitments that a company needs to make in order to realize the substantial benefits possible from Lean Manufacturing.
Overview and Perspectives on Lean Methods and Tools
This session provided an overview and practical experience of using various lean methods, tools and concepts. Examples provided included: value stream mapping, visual management through use of the 5S system, total productive maintenance to maximize machine effectiveness, standardized work, plant layout, defects elimination, use of the supermarket concept, reduction of setup time, batch reduction, cellular manufacturing, line balancing, continuous flow, use of pull systems, and teams.
Creating a Culture of Change in a Wood Products Company to Embrace and Implement Lean
Jeff Howe, Founder and Chair of the Board of Dovetail Partners, Minneapolis, MN; former President, Colonial Craft; former President, The Fullerton Companies
One common reason that Lean efforts sometimes fall short of reaching their full potential is the failure to sufficiently integrate Lean thinking as part of the company's culture and embraced by its employees. This session focused on the "people side" of Lean. Howe's presentation was based to a significant extent on his personal experience with Lean Manufacturing as President of Colonial Craft, a specialty wood products manufacturing company. Colonial Craft achieved spectacular results from Lean thinking, and was twice Midwest finalists for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award based on the company's "unique culture of change" as the company fully implemented Lean into the company's culture. Topics covered in Howe's presentation included, among others, alignment behind a company vision, building teams, building trust, eliminating obstacles, encouraging employees to develop new skills, whole systems thinking, and the importance of written plans.
The Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) has many useful sources of information and assistance relating to lean implementation. Their website is www.lean.org.
Among other things, LEI has published a number of useful workbooks. LEI’s first workbook, Learning to See, focuses on value stream mapping to create value and eliminate waste, and is highly recommended by presenters Urs Buehlmann and Earl Kline as a great place to start a new or renewed effort to implement Lean. LEI has also published other workbooks that can be useful additions for wood products companies. Different companies may find different workbooks particularly useful. Four of these additional LEI workbooks are:
A great resource as a follow-up to Learning to See is the workbook entitled Creating Continuous Flow, which focuses on applying the principles of continuous flow.
Another workbook, Creating Level Pull, provides a useful step by step case study on how to implement a level, pull-based production control system.
The workbook Seeing the Whole, is useful for companies that want to focus on improving customer/supplier relationships in the supply chain.
And the workbook Making Materials Flow, addresses how to supply purchased parts to the value stream to support continuous flow.
Productivity Press has produced a workbook that may be a valuable resource for some wood products companies. The book is entitled Made-to-Order Lean: Excelling in a High Mix, Low-Volume Environment.
The above books are all meant as practical workbooks to assist implementation. There are also a very large number of other books that have been written about Lean Manufacturing. Two of the very best are:
Lean Thinking: banish waste and create wealth in your corporation, James Womack and Daniel Jones. Second Edition, 2003. Simon and Shuster, New York, NY. ISBN: 0-7432-4927-5, 397 pages
Better Thinking, Better Results. Bob Emiliani. 2007. The Center for Lean Business Management, LLC, 336 pages
SFF is positioned to provide follow-up financial assistance to companies participating in the Consortium’s innovation workshops. SFF can provide 50% match of costs to wood products companies in the four-state region for activities stemming from this and future workshops. Up to $7,500 is available per company and will be allocated on a first-come, first -served basis.
To find out if your project qualifies for funding, please contact Collin Miller, Director of Wood Products Initiatives for Sustainable Forest Futures, by email or by phone at 603-229-0679, ext. 110.
Dr. D. Earl Kline - Professor, Wood Products Manufacturing Systems, Virginia Tech Department of Wood Science and Forest Products
Contact Info: 540-231-8841 email Earl
Earl is a recognized expert on industrial engineering, Lean Manufacturing and process control technologies for wood products manufacturing. Earl has published over 70 peer reviewed journal articles. Recent work has utilized industrial systems engineering concepts such as Lean Manufacturing and supply chain management to help link critical production operations more closely to market demand. For over 8 years, Earl has developed course materials and case studies in Lean Manufacturing for the wood products industry and has been actively involved with industry by leading workshops and participating in continuous improvement efforts.
Dr. Urs Buehlmann: Associate Professor, Virginia Tech Department of Wood Science & Forest Products
Contact Info: 540-231-9759 email Urs
Urs focuses on secondary wood products manufacturing systems and business management. Urs previously served on the faculty of the North Carolina State University Department of Wood and Paper Science. His work has given special focus to the impact of foreign competition on the wood products industry in the United States and how American companies can take steps to more effectively compete globally. He has focused on Lean Manufacturing as an important component of any such strategy. Urs has more than 10 years of experience working in industry, including serving as General Manager of a wood products company in California.
Dr. Jeff Howe: Founder and Chair of the Board, Dovetail Partners - Minneapolis, MN
Contact Info: 651-261-6391 email Jeff
Jeff is the former President of Colonial Craft, a specialty wood products manufacturer. He is also the former President of Fullerton Companies, a building products company. Companies under Jeff’s guidance have been repeatedly recognized by Wood & Wood Products Magazine as among the 100 fastest growing wood products companies in the United States. As President of Colonial Craft, Jeff led the company through a highly successful and recognized Lean transformation. Jeff is the co-author of Planning Guide for Small and Medium Size Wood Products Companies, published by the U.S. Forest Service. Jeff is currently a principal with Dovetail Partners - a non-profit organization that has published landmark articles on strategies for the wood products industry.
Funding support for this workshop and other activities of the Regional Wood Products Consortium is provided, in part, by grants from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund, the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, the Northeast Utilities Foundation and the Wood Education and Resource Center, Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.